On Parade

I was in my morning walk “zone”, lost in thought, when I became aware that I was being watched. Looking up from sand and shells, I saw seagulls, hundreds of them, lining the beach where waves meet the sand, all of them standing looking my direction.

It was as if they had tweeted each other to meet up on the Oak Island shore to watch the Parade of People. There weren’t too many of us human sorts yet, but enough for them to watch. Some walking, some running, some pushing strollers or cycling. Some were bent over, bums in the air shell hunting. It made me think of a Far Side cartoon I once saw of people in a pasture with cows on the outside of the fence looking in…too funny to imagine what the gulls might be thinking of us.

And each time I looked over at them, the gulls would turn their heads, averting their eyes, trying to be incognito I guess. I walked along like this all the way to the water tower, seagulls all along the shore watching me, maybe even cheering me on, like people do when runners are in a marathon, or cycling in the upcoming Tour de France.

By the time I got back to the beach house they had all dispersed.

Perhaps they went to a different section of the shore to watch the parade of people.;)

0 thoughts on “On Parade

  1. Deborah says:

    Such a fantastic sketch it made me gasp! The blue of the sky is so beautiful! And the writing – a truly entertaining and insightful post. Thank you for sharing your vacation with us!

  2. danscanvas says:

    Cool picture. You made me nervous because when I sketch people in public and they look up I avert my eyes. If the birds know then surely they do too! 🙂

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